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Gourmet Frozen Meals
We purchased these Lean Cuisine prepared meals at a local grocery store, on sale, at four for $10, or $2.50 each. They average between 290 and 300 calories per meal, with 4 to 8 grams of fat, 35 to 50 carbs, and 500 mg to 800 mg of sodium. If a healthy sodium level is a concern for your diet, these meals can push the 1,500 mg per day limit for reduced sodium. Most prepared meal delivery companies offer low sodium meals in the vicinity of 500 mg each.
The average portion size was just less than 10 oz. A complete meal of this size might be too small for most dieters to feel satisfied after a meal. Most of these meals did not have a full serving of green vegatables, and there were no breakfast meals available.
Lean Cuisine meals are distributed by Nestle, USA.
The Lean Cuisine Challenge
Are Frozen Meals Delivered better than grocery store Healthy Frozen Meals? We decided to do a comparison and see how the consumer reviews of national meal delivery companies matched up to Lean Cuisine prepared meals.
Diet Frozen Meals is a very popular industry for weight loss programs. With consumers buying weight loss meal plans, we want to see if these meals are a realistic choice for quality.
Healthy Frozen Meals
Diet Frozen Meals
Frozen Food Delivery
Gourmet Frozen Meals
Frozen Meals Delivered
Frozen Prepared Meals
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Very Small Portion Sizes
Many of these meals had very small portion sizes, especially as it pertained to the size of the protein, or the main course. None of these meals offered any type of green (non-starch) vegetable. The amount of fiber averaged between 9% and 12% of the USDA recommended value.
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Chicken Parmesan with Spaghetti
This was a very small chicken breast that barely measured three inches wide. It seemed more like a giant, machine processed chicken nugget than a fresh chicken breast. The pasta was far from al dente, closer to mushy, and the sauce probably made up a lot of the meals weight, which was just 10 oz. The cheese didn't add any flavor to the meal.
Swedish Meatballs with Pasta in Savory Gravy
We were expecting to taste the salty frozen meatballs available at any grocery store, but these Swedish Meatballs were tender and tasty. The noodles equaled the quality of the other pastas we tried, borderline mushy and clumped together. The sauce was okay, we wouldn't it savory. A green vegetable would have been nice.
Spaghetti with Meat Sauce
The amount of meat available in the meat we tried is minimal at best. We counted just two sliced mushrooms, and they came from a can. The sauce had a pleasant pepper and basil taste. The pasta had little texture, and was mushy. It clumped together during reheating. There was a lot more sauce than there was pasta. And again, no green vegetable.
Roast Turkey Breast with Stuffing and Cinnamon Apples
Sadly, there was barely enough roast turkey for more than a couple of bites, however it was real turkey breast. The stuffing did not reheat evenly. Some of it was crunchy like microwave bread, and some of it was mushy from absorbing gravy. The gravy was okay, but the Cinnamon Apples were very good. Again, no green vegetable.
Baked Chicken with Stuffing and Mashed Potatoes
The best part of this meal was the red skinned mashed potatoes. They tasted creamy and homemade. Only the small portion size made them diet-worthy. The chicken breast seemed like it was the same giant chicken nugget we tried in the chicken parmesan. The stuffing reheated better in this meal than the Roast Turkey. Still no green vegetables.
Sesame Chicken with Pasta
This was the best of the meals we tried. The fried chicken tenders had some crunch to them, and the sauce was very good, at the cost of 14 grams of sugar. We also saw our first hint of green vegetables with a couple flakes of string beans. The pasta is the largest part of the meal, and like all of the pastas is mushy and without much flavor.
Lean Cuisine Glazed Chicken with Rice Pilaf
We thought this was the same Baked Chicken Breast, just cut up. The glaze was okay, 6 grams of sugar as compared to 14 grams in the Sesame Chicken meal. The rice was bland, mushy, and clumped together, just like the other carbs. This time we found one slice of a canned mushroom and a few hints of a string beans.
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Frozen Prepared Meals Delivered
Occasionally, we will get reviews from consumers who claim the prepared frozen meals they had delivered were no better than a store-bought TV dinner. Perhaps in some isolated situations that could be true, but overall these meals are no comparison to the national prepared meal industry. The only people these meals could appeal to are those who see $2.50 per meal as the only benefit of a weight loss meal, similar to a NutriSystem diet plan.
While there some some good meal components, the portion sizes are probably too small for most people to be satisfied with. The lack of vegetables seems also seems odd to us. In the end, the old adage of "You get what you pay for," holds true for this experience.
